


Bunny, Bunny, Bunny, You're So Funny

by amarettobronislaw



Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Gotham (TV)
Genre: Bombing, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, F/M, Friendship, Hypnotism, Kidnapping, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mental Health Issues, Mind Manipulation, Murder, The Legion of Horribles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27228502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amarettobronislaw/pseuds/amarettobronislaw
Summary: A watchmaker with a hazy past gets a surprise visit from an old friend.Turns out there's a lot she doesn't remember.
Relationships: Jerome Valeska/Original Female Character(s), Jervis Tetch/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	Bunny, Bunny, Bunny, You're So Funny

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! 
> 
> Hopefully this is to be a start to a small collection of Gotham short stories centring around my OC, Beatrice March.  
> I really hope you like this, it's a new direction for me and I'm very excited about it!  
> As always, comments are greatly appreciated, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> \- Amarettobronislaw xx

A minute tremor shook the tweezers that delicately placed the cog into it’s rightful place. And it was done.

She released her held breath, her shoulders relaxing. Shutting the back of the completed pocket watch made her chest swell with pride, the completed product a credit to her skill.

The gold filigree was so tiny and intricate, the light filtering through the windows of her workshop glinting off of it to show it’s flawless design; a tiny rabbit sat alert among floral foliage of a forest clearing. It had taken hours to get the metalwork just right, and that wasn’t even mentioning the clockwork inside.

Pleasure caused a sway in her hips as she brought the watch to an adjacent shelf and placed it next to it’s sisters on a soft box of velvet, ready and waiting to be sold to Gotham’s wealthiest. 

Adjusting her neat white shirt and waistcoat, she ducked out of the low door and into the main shop, sighing to see it empty. Her watches were not the most in demand commodity, but it would be nice if people at least came to browse. There was certainly enough to see in the cramped shop. 

Shelves lining the walls displayed watches of all shapes and sizes, precious metals and gems, subtle designs or fantastical carvings. She also had wall clocks, mantle clocks, a couple of classy wristwatches and a towering grandfather clock of dark mahogany; all bursting from displays dotted through the space. 

Again, she glowed with pride. Clocks were always her passion, even as a child. It had always been Bunny’s dream to set up her very own watch shop, especially since…

The bell tinkled at the door. She looked up, beaming from behind the counter as she straightened herself up and out of her thoughts.

“Hi! Welcome to March’s-“ Her smile froze on her face.

It couldn’t be.

“Hello, my old friend.” A mellow, polite voice said.

A tall top hat cast his face in shadow, a long grey coat silhouetting him in the sunset of Gotham that streamed through her shop’s doors. She didn’t immediately know him, but she felt a bell ring in the back of her mind telling her that she did. 

His voice was so familiar, she could have sworn she knew him from somewhere.

“Pardon m-me,” The watchmaker’s customer service grin faltered, her brain desperately trying to place this strange man’s distinct tone, “But ho-how do I-“

He chuckled, the sound high and distinct, but she still couldn’t place him. 

“Oh, Bunny, my dear, it has been too long I fear.” The rhyme should have been odd, but it was somehow… natural. It felt like a comfort.

She squinted at him, trying to see his face. “Bunny? My name is Beatrice.”

He still didn’t move from the doorway, the hairs on the back of Beatrice’s neck stood on end. She knew him, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to. 

“So, um, did you come to look at a wa-“

“Bunny, sweet, I’ve missed your smile,” The soft-spoken man finally stepped into the shop. “Please won’t you let me stay a while?”

His smiling face was thrown into the light. 

Beatrice gasped loudly.

“Jervis?” 

How could she have forgotten? 

-

“Jervis! Stop her!” Beatrice squealed with laughter as her friend chased her around the park.

“Off with her head!” Alice cried in a mock British accent, swinging a stick between bursts of giggles. 

“Noooo!” Beatrice raced away, leaving Alice doubling over with the force of a giggle fit.

Thinking she’d won, Beatrice let out a hoot of celebration, arms held up triumphantly, before she was tackled to the ground.

She squeaked, struggling against her attacker, but when she saw his face and long hair, she relaxed. 

“Don’t do that Jervis!” She playfully shoved at the older boy, earning a loud bark of laughter.

“Then don’t be so easy to catch, Bunny.” He poked her nose and grinned, but was off before she could hit him again. She shook, her head, wearing a grin of her own as the boy ran after Alice, who had abandoned her stick. 

“Wait for me!”

-

He stepped closer, further into the light of her shop and Beatrice grinned a true smile.

“How long has it been? I must’ve been 13 the last time I heard that nickname.” 

Jervis Tetch, her closest childhood friend. Apart from Alice of course…

A slim goatee complimented his face, she had to admit he’d grown into his features well since she last saw him. Funny, though, there was something she couldn’t quite put her finger on nagging at the back of her head.

His cool voice shook her out of her thoughts. “It was sooner than you’d think, little rabbit.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion. His smile just grew.

“Oh yes, it was only a year ago, don’t you recall?”

He was almost directly in front of her now. What was he talking about? 

“I am sorry, I- I do not recall.”

A year ago? That was impossible, a year ago she was-

-

Black and white stripes. 

Laughter, echoing.

Tick tock, tick tock.

-

Her eyes blinked frantically.

What…

Her eyes found Jervis’ again, and the look on his face made her blood run cold. 

“You see?” He crowded close, mania in his eyes. “You see? There is much to reveal about yourself and me.”

Barely a metre away, his eyes were black.

This was not the boy she remembered.

-

A grinning man.

Whispering.

Hats, hats, hats.

-

But… was it?

Beatrice clutched the desk, her head had started to spin. The smile on her friend’s face was no longer familial. It scared her more than anything. 

He kept coming, leaning in like an excited spectator at the races, clamouring to see what happens next.

She tried to back up, but couldn’t reach the door to her workshop before needing the support of the wall. Images she didn’t understand kept flashing behind her eyes. They repeated in a pounding tattoo against the walls of her skull, over and over and over.

She could barely see straight, the grin in her head melding with one before her. What the fuck was he doing to her?

“Who are you?”

If he looked unnerving before, Jervis was nothing short of unhinged now. Delight at her question lit up his features as he bent down to level his face with hers. Beatrice tried her hardest to sink into the wall, but she couldn’t escape.

Something clawed through Beatrice’s mind. She didn’t want it, it hurt so badly. 

Jervis’ eyes danced over her face, his voiced lowered to almost a whisper. 

“I am the Hatter old friend of mine, and it is just about turning teatime.”

Teatime.

Teatime.

TEATIME.

-

Her lip twitched as she was led once more into the courtroom, handcuffed.

It was a useless gesture, the mechanism in the GCPD’s handcuffs was incredibly cheap and riddled with faults and weaknesses. But she would play along for now. She almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

“Beatrice March,” The judge began. This was a waste of time. She knew what sentencing would be. 

“You have been acquitted on all counts of murder by plea of insanity,” The judge had to wait a second for the outraged muttering out the court to cease before continuing.  
“The court has ordered your immediate admission to Arkham Asylum for treatment.” 

And with a crack of the gavel, her fate was sealed. 

She tried not to snort, but the flash of a grin escaped on to her face, baring her teeth.

The ball was now rolling.

-

Cogs clicked into place. 

The past she had forgotten was resurfacing through the layers of clockwork.

She was finally waking up.

-

The crowds were heavy today in the shopping district of Gotham. Beatrice applauded herself for picking such a perfect day.

Walking to the middle of a busy Gotham shopping district square, she put down her suitcase and exaggeratedly flipped her bowler hat up her arm and onto her head atop a pair of pigtails. Still mute, she began to unpack her case. 

Pulling out a tea set, she comically poured herself a small teacup full. The tea steamed, despite just being in a suitcase. Passers-by started to notice her little show, and paused to watch.

Going to drink it, she started in shock. Tipping the cup, the audience saw there was nothing there. Again, she poured, but still, the liquid that had streamed into the cup magically disappeared. A few chuckles were received at the trick. 

Shrugging, she threw the pot and the cup back into the case, unfazed by the smashing of the china. She went back to rummaging as the crowd laughed.

Bunny then produced a shining, golden rabbit, barely bigger than the real thing. Holding it up to the crowd with a flourish, she placed it at her feet, facing out. She pulled out another, repeated the movements, and placed it down. Then another, and another, and another, despite the small size of the case. 

She soon had 5 rabbits circling her feet, each made of fine metals with glistening eyes. More people had come to watch, curious as to what this was all about. As she gestured to the figures around her with wide arms, a small round of applause went up.

Grinning, she once more bent to rummage in her case. She soon produced an oversized key, in the same glistening gold as her rabbits. Displaying it to the crowd the got the gist, and eagerly muttered, eyes rapt as to what the woman would do next.

Slowly, drawing out their waiting, she placed the key in the first rabbit, turning it with larger than life movements that made a few younger children in her audience laugh. Again, she repeated this with each rabbit, pausing to wipe her brow with excessive weariness. When all were finally done, she put away the key. 

Straightening to see the people that had gathered, her eyes devoured them hungrily. 

Crossing her arms with a small smile, she tapped her chin, as if considering what to do. 

She cupped her hand to her ear, asking for encouragement. The crowd obliged, cheering as they played along, smiling. 

She playfully gestured for louder, egging them on with her arms. They applauded louder and louder, the anticipation growing. 

Her face was almost bisected by the grin she wore, but the crowd didn't seem to notice. 

She finally bent towards the rabbits. Quickly, she pressed on a button on each of the rabbit’s backs.

The mechanisms whirred and they set off, slowly hopping in different directions away from Bunny. The crowd quieted in curiosity, opening their ranks to let the rabbits through, and following their movements eagerly. 

Bunny watched in delight, closing the briefcase and putting an over the top hand to her brow to shield her eyes from the non-existent sun, watching her rabbits along with everyone else.

The shoppers herded the rabbits, being drawn in like mice to a trap. Even a few children mimicked their hopping movements while giggling with glee. 

They didn’t faze her though.

It was all a part of the bigger picture.

She stifled a laugh.

It wasn’t soon before her rabbits reached their destinations. They finally paused in the doorways of 5 notable high-end shops of Gotham.

The crowds shared their confusion, and just before any had a chance to walk away disappointed, 5 deafening booms went off in quick succession. 

Bunny was surrounded by fire, smoke and golden shrapnel, along with screams of the tens of people caught in the explosions. 

There was no point holding back. She laughed. It was perfect.

Spinning around with unbridled joy she danced in the falling ash, cackling as the chaos of her design reigned.

Steadying herself, she checked the final piece of her game.

Pulling out a battered watch from within her waistcoat, which she noticed now had an ungainly splatter of blood across it, she checked the time.

3:30pm.

It was just in time for tea.

-

She felt a similar grin grow on her face.

It was all back. The colour, the memories, the laughter.

Her Hats.

“Oh, my friend. You have not come for tea in far too long.”

Energy sizzled around her body, she needed to move, to create, to cause her old chaos. 

Hats threw his arms up. “Oh, you do recall! Have no fear, I will throw us a ball!” 

“But what is the occasion, good Hats?” The details were still hazy, she knew of a plan, but what plan? Someone else was involved, someone new...

The answer popped into her head. “Of course! Carrot top!” 

Her grin returned. The ginger had a plan, a most lovely plan indeed. Her time in Arkham had been most enlightening, yes it had.

“Is it finally time?” Her wide eyes fixed on Hats.

He oozed of pride and happiness, his friend back again. 

“Yes, Bunny, the pieces are set to place,”

He held a hand out to her.

“It is now time to pull our ace.”

Taking it, she felt innumerable joy from her core. 

The March Hare was out to play once more.


End file.
